Study abroad expands horizons as well as career options

By: Maiko Michishita

Posted: 4/29/09

Study abroad experience makes a student stand out among other candidates on a resume and in a job interview.

Study abroad programs attract students for not only gaining academic outcomes but also improving their personal skills such as broad global awareness, independency, self-reliance and diversity tolerance, which employers look for as global work force.

"The situation we are in has helped students understand the value of studying abroad," said DeDe Long, the director of the Study Abroad office. Because there is much discussion about the global market place, even in this difficult financial period, it will increase students' interest in studying abroad to show employers positive outcomes out of their experience.

Students who studied abroad and are applying for jobs told Long that employers always asked their international experience that provided good conversations during the interviews, she said.

"Students are now starting to see study abroad as a part of their degree programs not as something that they would do for extra curriculum," Long said. "It [Studying abroad] is very much a curricula."

The recent financial situation makes employers hesitant to hire as many graduates as before. Employers hired about 22 percent fewer graduates from last year, according to the Job Outlook 2009 Spring Update by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

The recent economy left seniors nervous about getting a job, too. About three of five surveyed graduating seniors surveyed are worried about finding a job after they graduate, according to the 2009 NACE Graduating Student Survey.

Students who studied abroad can tell employers many positive characteristics, Long said. For example, by telling what they did while studying abroad, they show their ability to take care of themselves in a different environment, to be aware of not just their own world but outside world.

"It's a major strength," she said. "The awareness of how (studying abroad) increases students' competitiveness will continue to go up."

As students see the value of higher education to be a competitive applicant, the number of students who study abroad also increases. The number of Americans studying abroad increased by 8 percent to about 241,000 in the 2006-07 academic year, according to the Open Doors 2008 report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education.

The number of students from Arkansas was 901, about a 31 percent increase from an academic year before.

The UA Study Abroad office has many more students applying for scholarships compared to last year, Long said. So scholarship opportunities for them will be more competitive than before.

"Interest in studying abroad is high, but at the same time, students need money," she said.

US Senators Dick Durbin D., Ill., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., introduced legislation to institute a study abroad program Feb. 25 to help build global awareness and international understanding, according to the Durbin's Web site.

Called The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009, the proposal would create a national program that encourages colleges to enhance students' participation, increases commitments with diverse host countries and provides financial aid. The goal is to send at least 1 million undergraduates go and study abroad every year. One million represent about half of US college students graduating annually, according to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Web site.

"America will be served well by taking steps to ensure our students - the future leaders of our nation - have a higher level of foreign language proficiency and international and cultural knowledge," Wicker said in the press release published on the Web site.

In spite of the increased number of students studying abroad, the Simon Act points out that the number is still a small portion of American students. Only 1 percent of undergraduate students studied abroad, and about 60 percent of them went to Western Europe in the 2004-05 academic year, according to the NAFSA Web site. And in the next 50 years, about 95 percent of the world population growth is expected to occur outside Europe. The Simon Act calls for developing study abroad programs to more diverse countries, especially to developing ones.

Study abroad is the only way for university students to learn about intercultural studies by allowing themselves to see things from multiple dimensions and to understand more about people around the world, said Kelly Wilkinson, assistant director of the university outreach or western region from Semester At Sea, the institute for shipboard education for global study abroad.

Employers look for knowledgeable people with intercultural education, he said. Even if they aren't, study abroad still stimulates intercultural understanding in today's global business world.

Study abroad used to be considered as a luxury about 20 years ago, Long said. Participants were largely females who were upper-middle class and had personal expenses to cover their fees. Most majored humanities or liberal arts and chose their destination to Europe. Today, both male and female students in any major fields participate in study abroad programs in various places, she said.

Europe is still the most popular destination, but the interest rate in Asia and Africa has increased recently. The number of students in 2006-07 academic year studying in South Africa increased by 28 percent from the year earlier, and the number in China increased by about 25 percent, according to the report done by the Institute of International Education released in November 2008.

"Students now see that studying abroad is not just a luxury. It's a necessity," Long said.